Beth Lipman Collection Grand Sculpture for Steuben

Beth Lipman is an amazing glass artist who brings brings a third dimension to the traditional still life with her work. Steuben has recently debuted an amazing collection by this acclaimed artist, and this full set is absolutely breathtaking.
Lipman’s expressive, fluid work pays homage to still life paintings of fruit and flowers created from the 17th through 20th centuries. The various crystal fruits, flowers, and leaves that comprise her Grand Sculpture collection for Steuben are meant to be arranged and rearranged in groups or as a single unit “at the whim of the client”, she says. The artist believes that “traditional defects such as bubbles or seeds, film in between layers of glass, dirt, and inconsistencies within the production” are accepted as signs of individual handwork, and symbolize “the fragility and imperfection of life.” This rich assemblage of fruits and flowers represents, she says, “our affluent society” and finds parallel in a prior period of great affluence during the Dutch Golden Age of still life painting.

One of three elegantly understated vessels in Muehling's Wave Series, this unusual bowl recalls the gentle, hypnotic motion of calm spring seas. By deftly shearing its blown glass rim, Steuben's peerless artisans sculpt the fluid ...One of three elegantly understated vessels in Muehling's Wave Series, this unusual bowl recalls the gentle, hypnotic motion of calm spring seas. By deftly shearing its blown glass rim, Steuben's peerless artisans sculpt the fluid line of a rolling wave. Imagine a single large blossom—perhaps a lotus or magnolia—adrift in this striking piece.

The papery, knotted bark of a stand of parallel Aspens creates a minutely detailed matte contrast to the brilliance and purity of the solid crystal block that frames this near-photographic image. To illuminate its realistic detail...The papery, knotted bark of a stand of parallel Aspens creates a minutely detailed matte contrast to the brilliance and purity of the solid crystal block that frames this near-photographic image. To illuminate its realistic detailing and rich textures, set this striking work of art in front of a window or other light source.

This splendid bowl is copper-wheel engraved to suggest microscopic floating diatoms that abound in warm-water reefs. It nestles in a bronze base artfully formed by lost-wax casting, utilizing delicate branches of coral deposited o...This splendid bowl is copper-wheel engraved to suggest microscopic floating diatoms that abound in warm-water reefs. It nestles in a bronze base artfully formed by lost-wax casting, utilizing delicate branches of coral deposited on coastal beaches by the wash of the tides.
Copper-wheel engraving is an amazing process to watch. It's like painting on crystal, but with a stationary flywheel -- so the artist moves the crystal, rather than the 'brush.' This piece probably takes weeks to finish - maybe months.
Michele Oka Doner is an internationally acclaimed New York-based artist and designer whose work translates natural forms--plant fronds, berries, shells, and life observed beneath the lens of the microscope--into objects of extraordinary power and seduction rendered in bronze, precious metals and stones, concrete handmade papers, ceramic, and now, glass.

Beth Lipman is an amazing glass artists, whose work has been shown in major museums, who has paired up with Steuben to develop a line of crystal fruits and botanicals. I love the sets, because they are interactive sculptures that ...Beth Lipman is an amazing glass artists, whose work has been shown in major museums, who has paired up with Steuben to develop a line of crystal fruits and botanicals. I love the sets, because they are interactive sculptures that you can display in a myriad of ways, even combining sets or breaking them up.
A symbol of prosperity and abundance, the fig also has come to signify the state of Israel. These fluidly sculpted crystal fruits, designed as part of the Beth Lipman Collection for Steuben, often appear in the 17th-century Dutch still life paintings that inspire Lipman’s hand-formed glass. As part of a cornucopia, they add a sparkling accent to the table.